OKLAHOMA CITY – Seventh-seeded Tennessee saw its season come to an end Monday at the Women’s College World Series, falling twice to No. 2-seed Texas in the national semifinals at Devon Park.
The Lady Vols dropped the opener, 5-2, before suffering a 4-0 loss in the winner-take-all second game. Tennessee finished the 2026 campaign with a 49-12 record.
The appearance marked Tennessee’s third trip to the WCWS national semifinals in the last four seasons, also reaching the round in 2023 and 2025.
GAME 1: No. 7 Tennessee 2, No. 2 Texas 5
Texas forced a deciding game with a 5-2 victory in Monday’s opener, collecting 13 hits to even the semifinal series.
Neither team broke through despite multiple scoring opportunities in the opening three innings. The Longhorns struck first in the fourth when Reese Atwood launched a solo home run to center field.
Tennessee answered in the bottom half of the inning. Ella Dodge reached and later scored on a Gabby Leach triple to tie the game at 1-1.
Texas seized control in the fifth, plating three runs on five hits. Katie Stewart opened the inning with a solo homer to left before a double, walk and three singles helped the Longhorns extend their lead to 4-1.
The Longhorns added an insurance run in the seventh on a fielder’s choice that brought home a runner from third.
The Lady Vols mounted a late rally, loading the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Emma Clarke delivered an RBI single to score McCall Sims and force a pitching change, but Teagan Kavan entered and recorded a strikeout to secure the win and send the teams to an elimination game.
Citlaly Gutierrez earned the victory after allowing two runs on five hits over 6.2 innings. Kavan recorded her fourth save of the season.
Erin Nuwer started for Tennessee and worked 4.2 innings, allowing one run on seven hits while striking out one. Sage Mardjetko tossed the final 2.1 innings, surrendering four runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
GAME 2: No. 7 Tennessee 0, No. 2 Texas 4
Texas carried its offensive momentum into the second game, tallying seven hits and backing a dominant pitching performance from Kavan to advance to the WCWS championship series with a 4-0 victory.
Both starting pitchers cruised through the first two innings before the Longhorns broke through in the third. Texas strung together five hits in the frame and scored three runs to take control.
Tennessee recorded its first hit in the fourth when Emma Clarke singled up the middle. Clarke finished the Women’s College World Series with a hit in every game she played, highlighted by a walk-off home run earlier in the tournament.
Stewart added the final run of the night for Texas with a solo homer in the fifth inning.
Karlyn Pickens went the distance for Tennessee, allowing four runs on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
Kavan tossed a complete-game shutout for the Longhorns, limiting the Lady Vols to two hits while striking out 10 and issuing no walks.
